Norwood Selectmen name Boch Fund recipients

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 3:00 PM

By Brad Colebcole@wickedlocal.com

Nearly 50 Norwood charities and organizations just got a financial boost.The $30,500 2014 Andrew and Ernest J. Boch Memorial Fund was split among 46 local organizations. The funds will support everything from musical concerts to sports teams to food pantries. Fourteen groups received at least $1,000. The top recipients were the Concerts on the Common Committee and the Conservation Commission. Both groups received $2,000."Weíre very pleased that we were one of two groups to receive $2,000," said Paul Eysie, chairman of the Concerts on the Common Committee. "It speaks volumes about the program and the number of people affected by it."The $2,000 solidifies plans for a 2015 Winter Concert series. This will mark the third year with winter concerts at Norwood High School. The committee plans to host at least four concerts during the winter.The Ecumenical Community Food Pantry of Norwood also received a large boost, getting $1,500 from the fund."That is quite generous, getting $1,500. Iím happy we got some," said Jeannette Chambers, grant writer for the Norwood Food Pantry.The pantry requested $8,000, as they hope to purchase an industrial size refrigerator to store fresh produce."A lot of people in town are offering us fresh fruits and vegetables, but we have no place to store them," Chambers said. "We want to provide our clients with these fresh fruits and vegetables. Food Pantry clients should be able to get healthier items, which are generally more costly."While the $1,500 doesnít cover the cost of such a fridge, the Food Pantry will evaluate its budget at its September meeting and see what can be done.Together Yes, which promotes sustainability in the community, received $500 from the Boch Fund. The group will use the funds to support its ongoing efforts, such as its monthly Sustainability film series at the Norwood Library, Sewstainability, fabric swaps and other public information and education initiatives, founding member Susan Clare said."We are getting more requests from other groups to present educational events on matters of sustainability and community building, and there is some expense in the simple preparation of materials for these and other initiatives," Clare said. "Pretty much, the money we have is spread as widely as possible over all of our initiatives, and who knows what we'll find that needs undertaking next?"Grants of this nature are by no mean a guarantee. While the Boch Fund provides a yearly boost to some charities, groups recognize they should not expect any grant in particular to come their way."We never expect donations or grants. We ask for them and then fervently hope for them, as we do not have time in our work for long or large fundraising events," Clare said. "We put what money we have immediately to work on public education about sustainability issues and community building, as we believe locally is where we begin to make a difference in the world. This work takes most of our time, so grants like this are very important and welcome."The Boch Fund was established by Ernie Boch Sr. in 1997 as a way "satisfy the various requests for money received by the Town that are worthy, but have no source of funding." Ernie Boch Jr. has kept the tradition going since his fatherís passing.Staff writer Brad Cole can be reached at 781-433-8339 or bcole@wickedlocal.com. Like The Norwood Transcript and Bulletin on Facebook and follow @bradcolewrites and @NorwoodTranscri on Twitter.